Tomato harvester



June 8, 1965 3,187,872

F. L. HlLL ETAL TOMATO HARVESTER Filed Feb. 18, 1965 a Sheets-Sheet 2 rls INVENTORS FREDR/GK L. H/LL BY LAUREN W- GATES U/M, m

ATTORNEYS p rp se to a suitable value for each crop.

3,187,872 1 TOMATO HARVESTER 1 Frederick L. Hill, Rio Vista, and Lauren W. Gates, Solano County, Calif., assignors to the Regents of The. University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

Filed Feb. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 259,115

7 Claims. (Cl. 193 -7) This invention relates, to an improved fruit-depositing device for use with tomato harvesters and similar harvest- 'ing' devices. This application is a continuation-impart of United States Patent 0.

c 3,187,872 7 Patented June 8, 1965 of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2, with portions broken away and shown in section.

FIG. ,4 is a fragmentary view in end elevation showin the device inuse at the end of the delivery conveyor of a harvesting device for discharging the harvested fruit into a truck, the delivery conveyor being broken 011 and the 'harvester itself .not shown.

Ano utput conveyor 10 usually extends out to one side 1 of the' fruit (e.g., tomato) harvesting machine (not patent application Serial No.- 148,963, filed October 31,

1961. i 1 p i The usefulness of the presentinvention is not limited to tomato harvesting, but that use will serve as an illustrative example. In the machine harvesting of tomatoes,

according to the parent application (a) a cutting device cuts the vines main stem preferably at root level; (b) a pickup device gently elevates the vine to a shaking deice; (c): at the shaking device, rubber-covered walking bars mounted in two contrary-moving sets agitate the vine Y and advance it along the bars, while providing a gradually increasingshaking force as the vine moves from one end of the shaker to the other; (d) the vine is carried to the end of the shaking device and falls to the ground through an openchuteg (e) the tomatoes removed by the shaker fall directly ,onto a conveyor, which carries them rearwardly;(f) certain devices removedirt, leaves, and trash from the harvested tomatoes;- (g) the tomatoes are cross-conveyed to sorting belts; (h) the tomatoes are visually sorted by hand as the sorting belts move them;

(i) the sorted tomatoes are conveyedinto containers, preferably located on a trailer being pulled parallel to the harvester; and (j) the containers of tomatoes are then hauled away by trucks.

, The present invention is used instep (i) asa discharge chute or fruit depositing 'deyice for receiving fruit from the conveyor and depositing it in containers. It may, of course, be used in other environments for a similar 1 The main problem is to lower the fruit gently into the shown -being supported for adjustment in theheight of its outboard end. The conveyor 10 may for example comprise a flightcd belt 11 with cross members or flights 12 that enable upward movement of the tomatoes. The belt 11, shown supported by a frame 13, may be driven by a roller- (not shown) at the inboard end of its loop, and there -is an idling roller 14 at its outboard end. As the belt 11. moves around the roller 14, the tomatoes drop oft'the belt 11 into the fruit depositing device 15 forming the subject matter of the present invention. Since there is momentum, they drop off in a trajectory rather than simply falling vertically.

' The purpose of the fruit depositing device 15 is to gently placethetomatoes into a bin 16 (FIG. 4) that is moved on a wheeled frame 17 alongside the' harvester, usually by a separate poweredvehicle (not shown), and

to do this with minimum damage to the tomatoes or other V the inboard wall 22; for the top of the wall 21 lies nearly limit being harvested;

- The device 15 has a housing 20 with an outboard .wall 21 and aninboard'wall 22 joined by walls 23 and 24. All four walls terminate together at their lower ends, but

the upper end'of the outboard wall 21 lies about that of flevel with the upper run of the belt 11, while the top of bins or other containers without damaging the. fruit, yet a at great flow velocity, for hundreds of tomatoes are being fed there each minute. l

Different fruits require diiterent operation. Even with the same kind of fruit, the average diameter varies widely from one crop to another. Hence, an object of the invention'is to provide means for controlling the lowering speed 1 Another problem is to obtain the proper trajectory of device to obtain the proper trajectory.

A further problem is to accommodate the fruit to the movement ofthe container and of the conveyor and the relative movement between them, and so an object of the invention is to provide this accommodation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will wall 22, to' provide a seriesof flaps 28. Beneath alter-' nate flaps 28 are slender leaf springs 29 to provide a gentle upward pressure to keep urgingthe strip 26 back to their original positions. The flaps are sufllciently flexible so that as the tomatoes roll against them as they move down i the inclined wall 22 which converges toward the wall 21,

.the fruit from the conveyor into the chute, and this .requires a set of adjustments. Another objectof this in-' vention is, therefore, to provide means for adjusting the the flaps 28 yielddownwardly to let the tomatoes move down below them; however, the flaps 28 at this time reduee the downward velocity of the tomatoes. Therefore, the tomato-does not gain in acceleration during its passage through the device 15; being slowedldown to nearly zero speed at each strip 26,the final fall from the bottom strip 26 starting at nearly zero speed. Opposite the bottomstrip 26 is a similar strip 30 having its own slits 27, flaps28, and spring s'29, and the tomatoes drop out gently from between the strips 26 and'30 into the bin 16.

appear from the following description of a preferred form of the invention. p

, In the drawings; v V

FIG. 1 isa view in front elevation of a fruit-depositing device embodying the principles of the invention, in-.

portions being broken away to conserve sp'ace.

1 FIG. 2 is a view in section taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1, showing a small portion of the output conveyor. FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a'portion stalled on the end of an output conveyor. Broken lines j show rather extreme alternative positions of the device,

The housing 20 is supported by the frame 13 of the conveyor 10. For this purpose, a pair of arms 31 are bolted by bolts 32 to slotted openings in a pair of plates 33 that are secured 'to the frame 13 and extend up therefrom so as to adjustable lengthwise of the conveyor 10, so

,as to enable lengthwiseadjustment to accommodate the trajectory of the tornatoes as theyfall from the conveyor 10 into the devices 15. tube 34 that lies vabove the beltll, generally parallel to is its axis. A mass extendsthroughthe tube 34 and has an enlarged end 36 adjacent the inboard end of the tube 34 and a sleeve 37 thatextends vertically from the rods opposite end. The rod 35 can rotate in the tube 34 but is constrained againstrotation by a pin 38 on the rod 35 The two arms 31are joined by a that ordinarily lies in a'recess 39 in one end of the tube V pivotally connected to. the housing 20 by a pivot pin 43' on the post 41 journaled in a pair of ears 44 .that are Welded to the outside of thewall 21. Another ear 45 is Welded to the wall 21 below the ears 44. Above the ear '45thcre is a bracket 46 on the post41, and a rigid link 47 is .g'oined to the bracket, 46 by a pivot bolt 48 and to the car 45 by a bolt 49, which extends through a vertical slot r Sit! in the link 47. Thus, the housing is supported by the tubular post 41 and is adjustable with respect to a small angle ofinclination by rotation about the pivots 43 and 46' and relative movement between the bolt 49 and the vertical slot 50. This adjustment regulates the verti- V cality of the housing 20 with respect to a vertical plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the machine, and en- ;ables compensation withrespect to the upward inclination of the outboard boom conveyor 10.

, The'rotatability of the rod in the. tube 34 is a safety device. Normally, the spring 40, pin 38, and recess 39 urge the housing 20- to the vertical position shown in FIG. '1, but if the bin '16 is moving faster or slower than the harvester, its forward or rear wall may come against the bousingzti, and then the housing 20 is swung forwardly for rearwardlyagainst the pressure of the spring 40, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 1-. v The vertical adjustment of the post 41 in the sleeve 37 enables adjustment ofthe inlet to the housing 20 relative to the belt 11'. a

There is one further adjustment. The wall 21 has flanges 51 to which the walls 23 and 24 are secured by bolts 52 that extend through horizontal slots 53 in the walls 23 and 24. Thereby, the distance between the walls ,21,and 22 can be adjusted to compensate for average.

fruit size, this of course also adjusting the distance between the wall 22 and the flaps 28. v V I To those skilled in the art to which this'invention re- I lates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will' suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be m any sense limiting.

We claim: v r V 1. A fruit depositing device, including in combination a box-like device having an inboard generally vertical wall, an outboard generally vertical wall facing said inboard wall, and generally vertical side walls, coni necting said inboard and outboard walls; and.

a series of fruit-delaying means secured to said outboard Wall only and comprising 'a series of resiliently anchored flexible strips extending out toward said inboard wall and downwardly and terminating in a free edge closer to the inboard wall thanthe diameter of thefruit, with slits extending from said free edge toward said outboard wall so ,that the fruit slidesvdown said inboard'wall, its velocity being reduced by engagement with said series offruit-delaying means. a '2. The device ofclairn 1 wherein said inboard wall slants toward the lower end of said outboard wall. I 3:. The device of claim 2 wherein said outboard wall extends above said inboardwall to provide a lateral inlet.

4.. A fruit depositingdevice, including in combination: ahousing having generally vertical.walls, narnely an' inboard wall an outboard wall facing said inboard wall, side walls joining said inboard and outboard Walls, and" v a series of fruit-delaying means secured to said out- .board wall only and comprisin spring means supported by said brackets for yieldably supporting each said strip. 5. A fruit depositing device, including in combination: a generally vertical outboard wall;

a generally vertical inboard wall facing and generally :parallel to said outboard wall but slanting so as to lie closer thereto at its lower end than at its upper 'gyend, said outboard wall extending above said inboard wall to provide an inlet; generally vertical side wallsjoining said inboard and outboard walls; a series of fruit-delaying means secured to said outboard wall only and comprising a series of lateral brackets extending across said outboard wall, l a strip of belting fabric supported by each said bracket and extending out toward said inboard wall and downwardly and terminating in a free edge closer to the inboard wall than the diameter of the fruit with slits extending from said free edge toward said brackets, and i spring means supported by said brackets for yieldably supporting each said strip; I

a support member secured to said outboard wall and extending upwardly therefrom; g means providing rotational adjustment of said outboard v 5 wall .relativeto said support member;

means supporting said support member for vertical adjustment thereof; and.

-rneans enabling swingingmovement of said walls relaa strip of belting fabric supported by each said bracket and extending out'toward said inboard Wall and downwardly and terminating in a free edge closer to the inboard wall than the diameter of the fruit with slits extending from said free edge toward said brackets, and i spring means supported by said brackets for yieldably supporting each said strip, 7 generally vertical 'side walls'fixedly secured to one of said inboard and outboard walls and adjustably secured to the other, to provide a housing of adjustable width,

a support member secured'to said housing and extendin-g upwardly therefrom; a

means providing rotational adjustment of said housing to said support member, I

a collar supporting said support member and providing A p for vertical adjustment thereof,

a rod extending generally-perpendicular to said support member from said collar; 7

a tube through which said rod extends,

spring means compressed between the end of said tube onthe opposite side from said collar and the adjacent end of said rod, and,

a locking pin on said rod, a recess for said pin being provided in said tube, to enable swinging movement against the pressure of said spring.

7. 'A fruit depositing device, including in combination:

a housing having generally vertical walls, namely an inboard wall, an outboard wall facing said inboard wall, side walls joining said inboard and outboard walls, and

a series of fruit-delaying means secured to said outboard wall only and comprising a series of lateral brackets extending across said outboard wall,

a strip of belting fabric supported by each said bracket and extending out toward said inboard wall and downwardly and terminating in a free edge closer to the inboard Wall than the diameter of the fruit with slits extending from said free edge toward said brackets,

6 spring means supported by said bracket for yieldably upporting each said strip, a support member secured to said housing and extending upwardly therefrom, horizontal means supporting said support member, and means enabling swinging movement of said housing relative to said horizontal support means in response to a force applied to said side walls.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner,

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,187,872 June 8, 1965 Fredrick L. Hill et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the grant, lines 1 to 3, for "Frederick L. Hill, of Rio Vista, and Lauren W. Gates O 301mm y, California, assignors to the Regents of The University Of CallfOTIllfi of Berkeley, California," read Fredrick L. Hill,- of Rio-l Vista, and Lauren W. Gates of Solano County, California, assignors to The Regents of The University of California, of

Berkeley, California, line 12, for "Regents of The University of California, its successors" read The Regents of The University of California, its successors in the heading to the printed specification, lines 3 to 5, for "Frederick L. Hill, Rio Vista, and Lauren W. Gates, Solano County, Calif. assignors to the Regents of The University of California, Berkeley, Calif." read Fredrick L. Hill, Rio Vista, and Lauren W. Gates, Solano County, Calif., assignors to The Regents of The University of California, Berkeley,

Calif. column 2, line 31, for "about" read above line 44, for "strip" read strips line 45, for "flaps" read flaps 28 line 62, for "to adjustable" read to be adjustable line 65, for "devices" read device column 6, line l, for "bracket" read brackets line 2, for "upporting" read supporting Signed and sealed this 15th day of March 1966.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A FRUIT DEPOSITING DEVICE, INCLUDING INCOMBINATION A BOX-LIKE DEVICE HAVING AN INBOARD GENERALLY VERTICAL WALL, AN OUTBOARD GENERALLY VERTICAL WALL FACING SAID INBOARD WALL, AND GENERALLY VERTICAL SIDE WALLS, CONNECTING SAID INBOARD AND OUTBOARD WALLS; AND A SERIES OF FRUIT-DELAYING MEANS SECURED TO SAID OUTBOARD WALL ONLY AND COMPRISING A SERIES OF RESILIENTLY ANCHORED FLEXIBLE STRIPS EXTENDING OUT TOWARD SAID INBOARD WALL AND DOWNWARDLY AND TERMINATING IN A FREE EDGE CLOSER TO THE INBOARD WALL THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE FRUIT, WITH SLITS EXTENDING FROM SAID FREE EDGE TOWARD SAID OUTBOARD WALL SO THAT THE FRUIT SLIDES DOWN SAID INBOARD WALL, ITS VELOCITY BEING REDUCED BY ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SERIES OF FRUIT-DELAYING MEANS. 